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A new survey published on Universal Children’s Day (Monday 20th November) reveals that parents living below the poverty line struggle desperately to make ends meet at Christmas and their children are missing out on basic items this winter. It is an outrage that in the UK, one of Europe’s strongest economies, parents are being forced to make impossible choices between such basic provisions as providing a hot meal for their children or putting on the heating. The survey of 1500 parents on low incomes reveals that parents find the costs associated with winter, such as increasing fuel bills and the need for winter clothing, put their already stretched budgets under immense financial pressure. The majority of parents say that they go into debt to make ends meet. 1 in 5 said that financial pressures put their own relationships with their children under stress. Save the Children, as part of the campaign to End Child Poverty, is calling for the Government to introduce Seasonal Grants to help low-income families at the most difficult times of year. These grants alone could lift 440,000 children out of poverty. Judy, a mother of two living below the poverty line, said: “This winter we’ll find it hard to make ends meet. By the time the bills are done we don’t have much left and it’s hard to get by. Some weeks if the bills are particularly expensive it feels like a choice between paying the bills or getting enough shopping. There are times when we run out of gas and I need to borrow money so that there will be hot water when the children get up in the morning.†Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive of Save the Children, said: “Children are facing another cold Christmas. It is outrageous that families in the UK are struggling to afford basic things like proper food or heating their home. The UK is a wealthy country yet we have one of the highest rates of child poverty in Europe. Gordon Brown must recognise that for the Government to get back on track in its ambition to end child poverty, greater investment is essential.†The survey reveals: Save the Children is calling on Gordon Brown today to put more realistic resources in place for the poorest children in the UK. Save the Children is calling for: Whitbread continued: “The introduction of Seasonal Grants - small lump sums at the times of year when low income families are most likely to slip into debt, and poverty - could lift 440,000 children out of poverty, and would represent a lifeline to families struggling to support themselves this Christmas.†Save the Children is calling for the public to support its campaign to end child poverty by signing up at www.savethechildren.org.uk/endchildpoverty Â